The Road Away from Betrayal
by I am no angel 0217
Summary: Brooke hates Peyton and Lucas is trying to get them to become friends again.
1. I Don't Want Her Anymore

**The Road Away from Betrayal**

**Chapter One**

Brooke thought that she could trust Peyton. Peyton had always been her best friend, except when Peyton was dating Lucas behind Brooke's back. She couldn't believe that this best friend of hers would try another time to steal her boyfriend away. She wondered what kind of best friend would do that. It was easy for Brooke to forgive Lucas. She loved him with all of her heart and knew that he was just being manipulated by her former best friend. He wouldn't go back to Peyton and leave her again. She knew that. It was just one little kiss, no big deal. All that mattered was that her boyfriend came back to her. Her best friend didn't have the luxury of asking for forgiveness. She had crossed the line so severely that Brooke didn't ever see herself forgiving her.

"Brooke, you've got to talk to me," Peyton said as she saw Brooke walking away from her in the hall at Tree Hill High School. "I don't want to lose you again."

Brooke turned sharply and looked Peyton in the eyes. This was one of those cases that if looks could kill, Peyton would be dead. "I don't want to talk to someone who would try to steal my boyfriend twice."

"Brooke, it isn't like that."

"Oh, sure. You just fooled around behind my back last year, and this year, you went and told him that you loved him. How do you expect me to think that you're not trying to steal my boyfriend?"

"Brooke, I thought I was dying…"

"I don't care if you thought you were dying. You had to have feelings like that before your little 'death bed confession' and you were probably waiting for the best moment to come around so you could get him."

"I don't want him if it means losing you."

"Well, you've already lost me. I don't want to have anything to do with a fucking boyfriend stealer. You were only thinking about yourself. You didn't think about me and what your feelings would do to me."

"So, I was selfish? I thought I was dying. I just wanted him to know that I loved him."

"Well, now you're alive. You can take it back now."

"No, I can't. I can't stop loving him. I know he's with you, but that doesn't make my feelings go away. I've tried to ignore them, but I'm having a hard time. I need someone to be with, and I want it to be Lucas."

"So you're still trying to steal my boyfriend?"

"No, I'm not. I'm trying to tell you that I won't make a move on your boyfriend because I don't want to lose you."

"You've already lost me."

The bell rang as Brooke turned around and marched towards her math class. She needed an escape from this drama. She thought about skipping class like the old Brooke would have done, but she had become someone new over the past year. She'd become a more mature young woman. Still, she felt so betrayed and outraged. She either wanted to escape this reality or get revenge on Peyton.

Lucas saw Brooke and noticed how tense she was. "Do you need a back rub?"

"What I need is a new best friend. All I seem to have is you. I mean, Haley has you and Nathan. I just have you."

"Still not talking to Peyton?"

"How could I? She betrayed me. She tried to steal you away from me. She was not the kind of friend that I thought she was. She was a hypocritical bitch. She always said that we wouldn't let a guy split us apart, so what does she go and do? She tries to have you as her boy-toy. What kind of best friend does that?"

Lucas didn't know what to say. He knew that whatever he said he might be stepping into dangerous territory. He didn't want to talk about how he kissed Peyton back or how part of him still cared for her in a more than friendly way. Then, he couldn't say that he didn't want to be Peyton's friend anymore because he still valued their friendship. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place, and he didn't know what to do about it.

Brooke wanted to continue ranting about how Peyton was no longer trustworthy or how Peyton was just being selfish, but the teacher came in the room. She had to pay attention so that she could at least try to look like she wanted to go to college. All she really wanted was to design clothes, but she had to pass her classes so that she could get out of high school. Design institutes aren't really impressed by people who flunk out of school and can't even get a diploma.

After class was over, it was time for lunch. Brooke walked hand in hand with Lucas outside to eat lunch. She saw Peyton a few feet away and pulled Lucas in another direction. He looked at Peyton and felt bad that he couldn't go over and talk to her. He had to remain loyal to Brooke. He didn't want to lose her. She was the greatest thing that had ever happened to him. She brought out the best in him. He couldn't let her get away. He hated the thought of losing one girl because of his love of another. If he chose Peyton, he'd lose Brooke forever. If he stayed with Brooke, he might lose Peyton forever. He wanted some way to keep both in his life. He needed to find a way to make sure that they would get along, but he didn't know how to get them back together.


	2. Tortured Artist

**Chapter Two**

"Brooke had some student government thing," Lucas said as he headed home. "She would kill me if she knew I was talking to you."

"It can't be that bad, Luc," Peyton responded as she was searching through her albums.

"It is. She doesn't trust you anymore."

"But she trusts you?"

"Why shouldn't she?"

"You kissed me back! Half of the blame should be put on you!"

"Peyton, calm down. I thought she would have been mad at me, too, but she blames you for everything. I hate that it's like this, but I don't know how to fix it."

"I'm starting to wonder if I even want it fixed," Peyton mumbled.

"Oh, come on, Peyton. You know that you want things fixed. You miss Brooke. Otherwise you wouldn't want to talk about her."

"Well, she's a big part of your life, so I don't know what else to talk about with you. I mean, I can't talk to you about basketball because you're not on the team anymore."

Lucas winced. It was still a sore spot that he couldn't play on the team anymore. "Peyton, I'm glad that we can't talk about basketball. That's still something I'm not really ready to talk about."

"Oh, okay. Well, since we can't talk about that and we can't continue talking about Brooke, then I really don't have anything else to say to you right now."

Before Lucas could even say goodbye, Peyton had put down the phone. He was really disappointed that he couldn't seem to save the friendship between two of the most important people in his life.

Peyton grabbed some paper. She began to draw pictures of her and Brooke together. She wanted to show their happier times, but ended up drawing the anger that filled their relationship right now. Lucas was right, she did want her relationship with Brooke to be fixed. It ate her up inside that she and Brooke weren't like they used to be. Peyton had screwed up so many times that she didn't blame Brooke for not wanting to talk to her. She knew that if Brooke had done the same things, she wouldn't want to be her friend anymore.

Peyton sat on her bed. She wanted to listen to music, but she couldn't think of a song that described her emotions right then. She had so many albums, but she couldn't think of one that would help her through this time in her life.

Peyton had lost so many people this year. She lost her mother. She lost Keith, even if he wasn't that close to her. Now she was losing Brooke. Brooke had always been in her life. They'd been best friends forever it seemed like, but Brooke hated her. Brooke wouldn't even look at her anymore. She couldn't stand to be around Peyton and she spent as much time as she could away from her.

Peyton had tried to relieve the anger, but when she'd write a letter, the letter would be torn open before it had been read. She would try to call Brooke's cell phone, but every time she called, Brooke would never pick up. She wanted Lucas to talk Brooke into at least spending a few minutes in the same room with her, but she knew that he might lose Brooke if he tried to push her into a reunion.

Peyton was trying so hard to keep from doing something to herself. She felt like a tortured artist. She knew that they did dramatic things because of the pain they felt inside. She felt that kind of pain building up inside of her. She just couldn't take it anymore. She decided that she needed to take a nap. She went into the bathroom to find something that would knock her out for a little while.

"Brooke, you have to give her a second chance," Lucas pleaded with Brooke.

"I've given her a second chance before," Brooke replied. "There are only so many times you can give a person a second chance before you lose them for good."

"Just go talk to her. She really needs you right now."

"What does she need me for? To piss me off further? I don't think so."

"Just go talk to her. I'll go with you."

Brooke and Lucas arrived at Peyton's house. They went up the stairs to Peyton's room. She wasn't in there. They knew she was home because her car was parked outside.

Even though Brooke had started to hate Peyton, she became worried. She began to look in every room. She noticed the bathroom door was cracked open.

"Peyton, I want to talk to you," Brooke said with a bit of an annoyed tone in her voice. She waited for a response. "Peyton?"

Brooke knew that Peyton had to be in the bathroom. She opened the door and saw her on the floor.

"Lucas, call 911!" she screamed when she saw the bottle of sleeping pills next to Peyton. Tears began to stroll down Brooke's face. "Don't die on me. Please don't die on me."


End file.
